Today, state Rep. Kurt Bills, R-Rosemount, announced he is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar this November.

Bills, 42, a high school economic teacher and former Rosemount City Council members, will compete against former state Rep. Dan Severson and decorated war veteran Pete Hegseth for the GOP nod.

The first-term legislator campaigned in Minnesota for Ron Paul's presidential bid. He made a focus on fiscal responsibility the focus of his successful 2010 Minnesota House campaign, and suggested today that fiscal responsibility will again be the centerpiece of his U.S. Senate campaign.

During today's announcement in downtown Rosemount, Bills said his "only aspirations lie in fixing what is broken and standing up for our future generations." He added (courtesy of Apple Valley Patch):

Bills has been a high school economics teacher for 15 years.

"Voters from Rosemount sent me 300 yards down that road to the city council, and we paid down debt," Bills said, pointing down 145th St. "And voters from Rosemount and Apple Valley sent me 22 miles up Highway 3 to the State Capitol to control spending and create efficiencies.

"And now I'll ask Minnesotans to send me 1,100 miles east to bring Economics 101 to Washington. And that's why I'm here today, to announce that I will seek the Republican endorsement to serve Minnesota in the U.S. Senate."

The Hill seems to think Bills faces an uphill battle to secure the GOP nomination. Last week, the Hill's Cameron Joseph wrote that Hegseth's decision to run gave Republicans "an upgrade" over other GOPers who were either already in or contemplating competing for Klobuchar's U.S. Senate seat. Hegseth, 31, has a national funding network in place thanks to his time running hawkish foreign policy group Vets for Freedom.

Still, Bills' website points out that when he ran for Rosemount City Council in 2008, he ended up being the top vote-getter out of 26 candidates despite not putting up a single yard sign. He may have to work that type of magic again if he wants to challenge Klobuchar this November.